VP Technologies, Inc., is currently a contractor on the USAF Electronics Parts Obsolescence Initiative (EPOI, 1998-2001) andhas also been selected a tier 1 subcontractor by Lockheed Martin (E&M, Orlando, FL) for its AMCE Parts Obsolescence (PO) Pilot Programs (JASSM & LOCAAS, 2000-2002). We are thus able to applyour extensive experience in combating electronics parts obsolescence at chip and board/subsystem levels, and also to leverage our partnerships with leading defense contractors, to develop a comprehensive solution to the problem ofautomated functional replacement (AFR) of obsolete parts. An innovative approach based on virtual prototyping technologies is proposed as part of this SBIR Phase I effort. The AFR system as proposed consists of three components: (1) A legacy design intent extractor that generatesexecutable specifications and test vectors of the obsolete part from partial or incomplete legacy data using syntacticand semantic recovery algorithms, (2) An architectural tradeoff environment that selects the right implementationfor the replacement parts based on form/fit/functional constraints, and (3) A detailed SW/HW design synthesis component that generates the functional replacement for the obsolete part together with its test vectors. Our approach isfurther characterized by its board-level replacement methodology, as opposed totraditional chip-by-chip replacement methodologies. A detailed benefit/cost analysis of the proposed approach will be completed in Phase I, together witha comparison to "hardware-in-loop" driven current practice, as applied to weapons systems. The proposed virtual prototyping approach to automated functional replacement (AFR) has immediate applications in the parts obsolescence management problems of the defense andavionics industries (a multi-billion dollar market). As lifecycles of various systemsbecome longer, the problem has become particularly severe resulting in the need for newand powerful technologies as outlined in our technical proposal on this SBIR effort.With decreasing times to market in the commercial world (e.g., 3 months in the telecommunications arena), commercial electronic products require continuous upgrades of systems to include newer technologies and components (thus creating a problem analogousto parts obsolescence in the defense industry). The proposedobsolescence management and upgrade technologies developed as part of this SBIRproposal can be directly applied to commercial electronics products in telecom,embedded computing systems, and information appliance markets - a potential trilliondollar arena. The proposed algorithms, tool suites, and component model libraries that are proposed will facilitate rapidsystem-level design, upgrade, and test, promising a "model-year" approach to electronics system design, spanning digital, analog, and RF domains.
Keywords: Obsolete Part Replacement, Legacy Electronics, Virtual Prototyping, Obsolescence Management, Vhd
